I'm looking to get into medieval lit. What's the best English translation of the Decameron? What are some other essential works from the Middle Ages?
the bible
In English: Canterbury Tales or Confessio Amantis (the latter has had less posterity; both overlap more or less with the Decameron as for the stories), Piers Plowman, Gawain
>>8242665
Should I try to read The Canterbury Tales in the original vernacular or seek out a modern translation?
Sir Gawain
Piers Ploughman
Arthurian Romances
Chaucer — Love Visions, Canterbury Tales
Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder — collected poems
>>8242672
Unless you're an English major, a modern translation will seeve your purpose and cause much less stress and strain. Chaucer's english is wholly different from ours. Night (nigh-tuh) is now "nick-ter". Things are just wayyyy dofferent
>>8242678
those tronslations sure are dofferent
>>8242672
See for yourself:
>https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Canterbury_Tales
... but provided you're literate, you should be able to get used to the language after a few pages, with no need for more than the occasional explanatory note that most original editions have. Knowing some French helps a lot, incidentally.
Is there an infograph with a list of essential medieval lit floating around?
